Each year, thousands of people are victimized by financial crimes such as identity theft and other forms of fraud. The Bank of Tampa is constantly working behind the scenes to ensure that client information and financial transactions are protected to the highest standard possible. At the same time, we ask our clients to frequently and carefully review their account activity and immediately let us know of any discrepancies.
The United States Federal Trade Commission maintains a website to provide a one-stop information resource for consumers and businesses pertaining to fraud prevention and response. Please review the information on this site and bookmark this valuable resource for future reference. The website is:
To protect your Visa Check Card (also called a debit card) and Visa Credit Card accounts, we monitor your transactions for potentially fraudulent activity, which may include a sudden change in locale (such as when a U.S.-issued card is used unexpectedly overseas), a sudden string of costly purchases made, or any pattern associated with fraud trends around the world.
If we suspect fraudulent activity is occurring on your Visa Check Card, we will be calling you to validate the legitimacy of your transactions. Your participation in responding to our call is critical to prevent potential risk and to avoid restrictions we may place on your card.
If an alert is raised on your Visa Credit Card account, you will be contacted by an automatic dialer system to verify your account activity. When contact is made, the automated dialer system will handle the call as follows:
Once your identity is confirmed as the cardholder, you will be prompted to confirm the reported transaction(s) as legitimate or suspect using your telephone keypad. If you indicate that you do not recognize the reported transaction(s), the call is automatically routed to a Fraud Alert Management representative so further action may be taken. If all transactions are acknowledged as legitimate, the call is completed and no action is taken.
Unless absolutely required for a legitimate business purpose, avoid giving out your:
Our goal is to minimize your exposure to risk and the impact of fraud. To ensure we can reach you whenever potential fraud is detected, be certain to keep us informed of your current phone number and address at all times.
Additionally, if you are planning any travel abroad, please inform us at (813) 872-1200 or contact your banking office so that purchases and withdrawals made overseas will not be flagged as suspicious. Informing us of travel overseas will ensure uninterrupted use of your Visa Check and/or Credit Card.
Finally, it is important to be diligent in monitoring your card account activity. Please contact us immediately at (813) 872-1200 if you identify any fraudulent transactions.
Many of our clients have experienced problems with their Visa credit and/or debit cards being rejected during times of foreign travel. If you plan to travel abroad and intend to use your Bank of Tampa Visa credit or debit card during that time, please let us know. Your credit and debit cards are automatically protected by a fraud detection service that reviews transactions as they are processed. To save potential time and hassle during your trip, please contact us prior to your departure to verify your travel dates, destination(s), and the contact information to be used while you are away. The Bank of Tampa will notify its fraud detection service of your travel plans and your intended destination(s). If this measure is not completed beforehand, it is possible you may find your card blocked when you attempt to use it. It is important to note that, even if the proper precautionary measures are taken prior to departure, the use of your Bank of Tampa Visa credit or debit card may still prompt a phone call from our fraud detection service during your travel time. Foreign transactions are watched particularly closely due to the high volume of fraudulent activity that takes place overseas. Our fraud detection service is an automated service. Should unusual patterns in purchase behavior start to appear, you will automatically be notified. Any calls generated will occur only if activity on the account scores in such a way to generate suspicion. In those cases where a phone call is received from our fraud detection service, a return call to The Bank of Tampa will be essential in order to prevent your card from being blocked for use. It is possible that we may not be able to reach you at a time when we have concerns about transactions giving the appearance of fraud. In such cases, we may need to take preventative action and block your card until you can be reached in order to prevent potentially fraudulent activity from taking place. A return call to The Bank of Tampa will be required in order to confirm your transactions and remove the block from your card. Travel Tips -- When traveling overseas, we recommend using a credit card for purchase transactions. However, a debit card can also be used for the majority of transactions undertaken. -- In case of an emergency, we recommend that you carry more than one form of payment, such as other credit/debit cards and/or travelers cheques and local currency (both available at The Bank of Tampa). -- Due to the constantly changing economic and political conditions occurring worldwide, there are times when certain countries are blocked from activity in their entirety, even if you notify us of your plans to travel the country in question. For current information on blocked countries, please contact us. -- Getting in contact with your cell phone provider is highly recommended before traveling overseas. Most phone carriers offer international calling plans. For any questions or concerns regarding your travel abroad, please contact us at: Business Hours: (813) 872-1950 After Hours – Debit Cards: 1-800-554-8969 After Hours – Credit Cards: 1-800-325-3678 E-mail: travel@bankoftampa.com
The Bank of Tampa wants to ensure that all of our clients are provided with valuable information to protect them from crimes related to financial activity. To this end, we are recommending that you take a moment to review the following:
To report any lost or stolen ATM, check or credit cards, contact the appropriate number below 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:
Lost or Stolen ATM or Visa® Check Card 1-800-554-8969
Lost or Stolen Visa Credit Card 1-800-325-3678
With today’s rapidly changing technology and increasing attempts at fraud, business people know how critical it is to stay on top of the latest trends in financial safety and security. Below are some recommendations for “Best Practices” for business owners.
The Bank of Tampa is committed to providing a secure Internet environment. Keeping your financial and personal information secure and confidential is one of our most important responsibilities. The following measures are used to protect our systems and your information:
Visitors to our website who are not logged on to Personal or Commercial Online Banking remain anonymous. Clients using Personal or Commercial Online Banking must enter their access ID and password in order to access their account information with The Bank of Tampa. A “session cookie” is required to maintain a secure Internet connection and is automatically deleted once you sign out or reach the “no activity” threshold. We do not collect any information from the session cookie. The Bank of Tampa also does not use cookies to track Internet use after a visitor or client leaves our site, including Personal and Commercial Online Banking.
We may provide links to non-Bank of Tampa companies such as Harland Clarke, our preferred check printing company. If you choose to link to sites not controlled by The Bank of Tampa, we are not responsible for the privacy or security of these sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of such sites.
Aggregation sites are Internet sites that permit you to consolidate account information from various sources for viewing on one site. In most cases, the aggregation provider usually requests access to your personal information. You should ensure that the aggregator has the appropriate policies in place to protect the privacy and security of any information you provide or to which they are gaining access.
If you provide information about your accounts with The Bank of Tampa to an aggregator company, all transactions initiated by the aggregation site via the access information given will be considered authorized, whether or not you were aware of a specific transaction. If you decide to revoke the authority you have given an aggregator company, we recommend that you change your Bank of Tampa password to ensure that the aggregator company cannot continue to access your account.
It is very important to always remain aware of the potential for identity theft. The Fair & Accurate Credit Transactions Act (FACT Act) mandates that the three major credit reporting agencies make your personal credit report available to you once a year at no cost. Your free credit report may be retrieved at the following website:
www.annualcreditreport.com
Please be aware that your “basic” credit report is available to you at no cost. If you want to know your actual “credit score” or wish to sign up for a credit monitoring service, the credit bureau that you select will charge a fee for the additional service. The basic credit report itself is very thorough. Upon review, if you find anything that appears incorrect in your personal credit report, the website provides procedures for reporting the error to the credit bureaus.